Memory Scrapbook
by moonshadow2012
Summary: This is going to be a collection of Zexal One-Shots that are kind of worked around this idea I had about Astral's past and his relationship to Kazuma. The first one is called 'Birth' and it's about the origins of Astral and Dark Mist/Black Mist. I will be using the English names so I apologize to anyone who likes the Japanese names. Hope you enjoy! T for safety and character death
1. Birth

**This is probably going to be a collection of one-shots that could be taken as chapters in a story. But for now (due to my propensity for not finishing stories) we're going to hedge our bets and call it a collection of one-shots. Anyway, Black Mist is up first because I just HAVE to write this down. I'm in the mood. R&R**

Astral World was beautiful. It was composed of shifting lights and colors, all swirling toward a center bathed in the brightest, most delicate, most fierce, and most beautiful of light refractions. The edges of Astral World swirled out and out until they merged with the galaxy itself. Astral World was all depths and dimensions and temperatures and sensations rolled into one luminescent package. And it was dying.

Actually, it was being killed. But any way you said it the results were always the same – destruction of Astral World and annihilation of the Astral Beings. Total destruction of a beautiful world. Genocide of a (mostly) peaceful people. So the Astral Beings sent out scouts. They wanted to know who was attacking them and why. But the scouts ran into a problem as soon as they found one of the answers they were looking for – Astral World was being attacked by _Earth._

_**Earth? Impossible! All our gates to that planet were sealed dozens of millennia ago!**_

_**They must have found a way to open one of them. Maybe a lucky scientist stumbled into one.**_

_**Stumbled into one? And just decided to bomb the world behind the gate? Humans are not **_**completely**_** consumed by violence and hatred.**_

_**They could have changed for the worse in the last dozen millennia.**_

_**Don't be stupid.**__ The voice stunned all the council into silence. __**We all know what is going on here. **__Silence reigned in the gathering. No one dared voice an objection or approval. __**What? No one's going to say it? I guess I will then – **_**Barians.**

The less-than-peaceful portion of the (mostly) peaceful people had to come up with a plan, a strategy of some sort. Failing in that, they devised an insane, risky, but overall successful maneuver that would unfortunately require maximum casualty and destruction as well as start and all-out war. Failing in that, they were forced to consider the ever-popular super weapon. But no one had any ideas. All the weapons the Astral Beings knew how to make only operated at maximum efficiency against other energy beings. Not humans, the carbon-based life forms that they were.

_**I have an idea**_. Said the same thought-voice. No one wanted to ask. No one wanted to _know._ But desperate times called for desperate measures.

_**What is your idea?**_

The Astral Beings chose a pair to create the young one. As they pooled their energies into the center of Astral World, where the Life Pool was, the others stood by. They waited until the unborn young one's energy was stable before reaching into the Pool one by one…and manipulating the energy.

Humans would call it genetic engineering. The Astral Beings called it energy manipulation. The outcome was the same – the unborn child was changed, warped, and infused with power – enough power to survive in Earth's unique energy field _and _carry out its mission – hopefully. As at last they all moved away, one of the Astrals handed a small sack of one hundred tiny lights to the Astral Being who had suggested, well, everything.

_**Auran, you should be the one to do it.**_ She said.

_**But…**_ Auran hesitated for the first time since the sky had begun to fall.

_**Auran**_. Her voice was serious. _**You owe him that much**_. As he reluctantly took the sack, Auran gave her a sideways look.

_**How do you know it will be male**_? He asked.

_**Mothers know these things,**_ Was all she replied. Auran shrugged, held out the sack…

…and dropped it into the Pool.

_**One Hundred pieces of yourself.**_ He murmured. _**May they serve you well.**_

As they all watched, a droplet of iridescent light-liquid bulged, then grew and stretched and finally separated from the Pool. With bated breath, the Astral Beings bore witness as a delicate fist formed from the droplet, punching outward like it was trying to escape. With a release that felt like a triumph even to the watchers, the fingers flexed out in a hand. The rest of the body followed suit quickly, until a tall, slim energy being levitated in place of the droplet.

But he – because it was a 'he' – looked different from the other Astral Beings. There were markings that covered his body like tattooes. _Or scars,_ thought Auran guiltily. The Astral Being turned toward them as if following some sort of sixth sense. He had beautiful eyes that were similar to liquid gold. But within them, the spark, the wonder that should have been so bright was dim. It was as if they had been pushed deep down inside the new one and it was a struggle for him to even keep them alive. Emotionlessness and expectancy triumphed. He was expecting orders. He was expecting his mission. _What have we done?_ Auran asked himself. It was the first time he had doubted this idea that had come from him. It would not be the last.

_**Your name is Astral.**_ His mother had stepped forward. "You are being entrusted with the safety of our world."

'Astral' looked at her for a moment, as if memorizing her. Then his golden eyes moved to the rest of them. And slowly, he turned to the side, looking over the whole world he had been chosen to protect...

Astral looked up, lifted his arms slightly from his sides, and floated gracefully into the air.

Astral had never seen the sky fall before. He knew he had been created – _born,_ he corrected himself absently – because the sky was falling, but he had never seen it fall before. He didn't understand when the others talked about alien missiles launched through a dimensional portal. He understood the words, but he didn't understand _why_ the aliens were targeting them. Astral was a logical being. A curious, logical being. He needed reasons, answers. He needed to _know._

_**Curiosity isn't a good trait for a warrior to have**_. Auran had reprimanded him. _**Curiosity can get you killed.**_

Auran was his caretaker and his trainer. Astral had only seen his mother once. He had probably seen his father too, that time – but he didn't remember. After he had been born, he had been taken to a special place and trained. Astral had to train a lot. He had no friends his own age – but age was irrelevant. Astral had no friends.

There were a lot of things that Astral had been taught that were irrelevant. Age was irrelevant – they were energy beings, they didn't age. Strength was irrelevant – no matter how strong your opponent was, there was always a way they could be beaten with strategy. Family and friends were irrelevant – they only served to distract a warrior at the most inopportune times. Emotions were irrelevant. Reasons were irrelevant. Casualties to the enemy were irrelevant. Casualties on the whole were sometimes irrelevant. And above all, death was irrelevant – as long as the mission was completed first.

Astral had gotten the feeling several times that the others _expected_ him to die. And as hard as he tried, he couldn't seem to bring himself to care.

But that time, that one time, Astral wanted to see the sky fall. He wanted to see what he was up against, but it was more than that. If he saw the sky falling, maybe – maybe – he would understand why the Earth Beings hated them so much. Maybe he would understand why they wanted to kill his people.

Astral managed to sneak away from Auran. He had only wanted to be alone, just for a little while. He was never alone. Because while the others had no problem with Astral dying after his mission, they were very concerned about him dying before it.

_**Never say that.**_ Auran had snapped.

_**What?**_ Astral had asked.

**Dying.** Auran had hissed as if it were a curse word.

_**What do I say then?**_ Astral had inquired after struggling with the possible reasons.

_**Say 'fading'.**_ Auran had told him after a moment's thought.

Astral hadn't really expected the sky to fall. He knew that it was unlikely that it would fall the one time he was outside the safety of the light-mists, and secretly he was glad that the odds were so low. It meant that he wouldn't have to see the destruction. There _were_ other reasons he wanted to sneak away from the mists where Auran trained him, after all – he wanted to see Astral World, he wanted to meet other Astral Beings, he wanted to see his mother again… But all of those took a backseat to his need to _know_ the reasons behind the sky falling.

And when it fell, Astral looked up in surprise. The burning wreckage that careened like drunken stars toward Astral World didn't look like any type of weapon he was familiar with. The balls of fire weren't generated from a light cannon, and there was no sign that they were hiding any kind of psyche-disrupters. They looked like…like something the Earth Beings had just cobbled together and thrown away. In a way…it was beautiful.

Then the wreckage hit Astral World with the force of poisoned meteors.

Explosions formed bubbles of angry red energy and moved out in deadly, perfectly round, areas that just kept growing and growing and growing. They didn't die away like normal explosions. It was almost as if they were feeding off the energy of the world itself. Or as if they were diseases Astral World had no way to fight against.

Tears stung Astral's eyes as he watched his world be destroyed piece by piece. And then…the screams. People were screaming in pain, _dying._ The explosions were killing them. Astral raised his fists to his ears and pressed down hard as if he could block them out. _I'm supposed to stop this?_ He thought hopelessly. _I can't…I don't know…I…I…_

"ASTRAL!" Auran was suddenly there, blocking out everything. Astral raised his tear-streaked face and realized he was on his knees. Auran was standing above him, fury etched into his features. He was so furious he had started shouting aloud, instead of using telepathy (which was the natural language of the Astral Beings)."WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

"I…I…" Astral tried to respond aloud but his voice broke and he fell silent. But that was okay. He couldn't find the strength to defend himself anyway in all this death and destruction. And he wondered – what sadistic, cruel, evil person would do this to Astral World? Who would want to kill them all? Did they even _know_ the Astral Beings? Couldn't they see?

Astral's thoughts were cut short by Auran, who grabbed him roughly by the arm and dragged him to his feet. "We are getting back to the mists _now._" Auran growled. Astral let himself be pulled along, moving faster and faster as hysteria threatened to take over. But it was okay – Auran was moving faster too.

It took a few seconds longer for Astral to realize it, but he soon became very aware that the heart of the explosions were closest to the mists. When he did realize it, he looked at Auran, slowing just the slightest bit. Astral's caretaker didn't look back. He didn't slow – he actually went faster. But Astral felt a tendril of comfort, of strength, in the back of his mind.

_**I know**__._ Auran's thought-presence murmured. _**It will be fine.**_

Astral's voice, mental and audible, was weaker than Auran's – but in his defense he hadn't been around all that long – so he didn't reply. Not in words. Astral focused his mind and reached out a tendril of his own thought-presence to touch Auran's – then he sped up. And the two of them charged straight into the falling sky like twin bolts of lightning in a warzone.

In the heart of the explosions, there was nothing. There was no dodging them, there was no clever maneuvers or strategy. There was just speed. Speed was all the two fragile energy beings had going for them, and they sped faster and faster until their visual forms lengthened and stretched. The sound was deafening and numbing. The explosions rocked a world made not of a magma core and rock, but of light and energy. And the explosions impacted it and rocked a ground that did not exist.

Auran felt the poison of the Earth World seep into him and corrupt his very being – but Astral felt nothing. His markings and the power they symbolized protected him from the deadly energy of Earth.

Auran felt himself slow as the pain began to distract him. Astral pushed against him, drew up alongside him, then finally almost dragged him along. The younger energy being was desperate to get back to the mists. Auran, though he would never let it show, was just as desperate. If he stayed out here any longer, not only would the poison kill him, but he would drive himself crazy in his last moments listening to the screams of the helpless.

Auran and Astral were both trying their hardest.

It wasn't enough.

The explosion impacted the ground right in front of them. They stopped but had no time to move before the side of the poisonous field hit them head on. Auran screamed as the poison came into contact with him and immediately began to destroy his body. Astral was protected from the poison – but from the explosion itself, he was not. Both of them were hurled backwards as Astral's split-second power surge impacted the side of the explosion and detonated like a bomb. It was probably what saved them from being sucked into the heart of the explosion.

But it wasn't enough.

Astral opened his eyes, dizzy and in pain. His mind was foggy and his body felt insubstantial and weak. He raised a hand in front of his face and gasped in shock as he watched it fade in and out, his powers struggling to repair the damage to him. It was the strangest sensation…Astral watched as his hand traded places visually with the normally beautiful sky, now dyed red and black with poisoned smoke._ Where is Auran? _He wondered absently. Suddenly, he sat up, ignoring the pain screaming throughout his being.

"Auran!" He shouted aloud in his desperation, looking around wildly. The world was so full of devastation and smoke and red poisoned energy that he couldn't see more than a few hand-widths in front of him. "AURAN!"

What if the explosion had sucked him in? What if he was looking for Astral and flew into the path of one of the meteors? What if he was worried, or hurt, or…Astral wouldn't even allow himself to think it. Auran _had_ to be alright.

Focusing all his remaining power – and ignoring the protests from his injured body – Astral reached out telepathically. It was a feat unlike any he had accomplished before – a telepathic sweep in the heart of the falling sky while seriously wounded – but Astral didn't waste time being proud of himself. Auran could do that for him if – no, _when_ – it worked. Because it would.

For the longest time…nothing. Astral was in pain, dizzy, and slowly losing his strength and his concentration. He clenched his fists and bit his lip and tried harder, reached further. He _would_ find Auran. He didn't have to look down anymore to know that his body was fading fast.

_**Auran…Auran! AURAN!**_

And then, finally…something. It was faint, but it was definitely Auran.

_**Astral…get back to the mists you idiot.**_

Definitely Auran. But something was off. The thought-presence that Astral had made contact with was much too weak. Astral tried to levitate, but fell immediately. Opening his eyes, he rose slowly and unsteadily to his feet and took a few staggering, experimental steps forward.

_**Not without you!**_ Astral's telepathic voice was firm and stubborn...and, in his weakness, all he could muster. If he was destroyed now he wouldn't even be strong enough to scream like the others. But though Auran knew not to try to talk him out of something like this, he tried. And what he said only made it worse.

_**I'm afraid…'without me' might be the only option.**_

That was when Astral really started to understand fear. He half-staggered half-ran after the rapidly-weakening telepathic presence that was where he assumed Auran's body would be. Auran's body, however, was so faint by the time he arrived that Astral almost missed him.

_**Auran…**_ Astral gasped, dropping to his knees beside his caretaker.

_**You don't…look too good…yourself.**_ Auran murmured, attempting to distract his young charge. He should have known better – Astral could not be distracted so easily.

_**We must hurry. Get back to the mists.**_

Auran could tell what a strain it was on Astral to keep the telepathic contact. Astral had been manipulated to survive on Earth, but Auran and the others hadn't taken into account that the changes would affect how he survived or interacted on Astral World. Astral slid his arms underneath Auran and tried to help him to his feet, but they were both too weak. Together, they collapsed back to the ground that was not ground.

**You**_** must hurry.**_Auran insisted. Astral gritted his teeth angrily and determinedly rose, dragging Auran with him. This time, they stayed upright. Auran couldn't support himself. He was leaning entirely on Astral, who was fighting with all his strength to support them both, even though his body was fading. Auran almost fell through him several times.

_**No.**_Astral snapped. _**I told you – I'm not leaving without you.**_

He closed his eyes and enveloped them both in a cocoon of light for just a moment. It left him exhausted, fading faster than ever, but it worked. Now both Auran and Astral were fading in synchronism, and Auran wouldn't fall through the younger being again.

_**Astral, **_Auran could barely open his eyes. _**It's hopeless. Just leave me here.**_

_**Never say that!**_ Astral pleaded. _**Never say it's hopeless! I'll save you, I promise!**_

Auran could feel himself fading more and more every second as the Earth energy ate into his very being.

_**Astral…**_ He murmured. _**I'm sorry.**_ There was so much he was apologizing for – manipulating the young one's energy, taking him from his family, raising him without the love of parents or the rivalry of siblings or the strength of friends, and for leaving him all alone. There was so much he still wanted to say to Astral…but he would never get the chance.

Astral was all alone in the mists. His new trainer was keeping him in an energy field when they were separated so that he wouldn't sneak out and endanger himself again. Astral was angry – not because he was being punished, but because all he was being punished for was for endangering _himself._ What about Auran? Nobody cared that he had disappeared trying to save Astral. Nobody cared that he had disappeared at all.

And it was all Astral's fault.

He tucked his knees into his chest and rested his head against them. What was he going to do without Auran? Why hadn't he been able to save him? How could anyone expect him to save Astral World when he couldn't even save one person?

"Astral, you must not give up hope." Astral looked up to see the shimmering form of a white and gold warrior projected in front of him.

"Utopia." Astral murmured. "Why shouldn't I? Auran's gone and hope didn't save him." He glared. "_You_ didn't save him either." Speaking out loud was easier for Astral, so it was the only way his one hundred companions _could_ speak. Well…Astral had been told there were one hundred. But not all of them had made themselves known yet.

_**It's because they're still being formed inside of you as you create who you are,**_ Auran had said.

"I completely agree, Astral." It was a new voice, but a familiar voice. Astral was startled when he realized that it was _his_ voice. Both he and Utopia turned to see a dark puddle spreading across the edges of the energy field they were contained in. Utopia apparently recognized it and moved to a defensive position, arm on the hilt of his sword as if his thought-self could somehow protect the young Astral Being he was a part of. But said young Astral Being was more curious than cautious.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"You may call me Dark Mist." Said the puddle.

"What did you mean when you said you 'completely agree'?" Astral asked.

"Auran was killed by the humans." Dark Mist was oozing closer. "Hope didn't save him, and Hope won't bring him back. Nothing will." The truth stung, and Astral felt the pain that was coming from somewhere in his chest flare up again with renewed zeal.

"What is your point?" Astral hid his pain behind a mask of indifference. He wouldn't be seen as weak to a part of himself. Dark Mist oozed even closer, close enough that Astral was almost sitting in it. He looked down and saw a reflection of himself – a darker, more sinister looking version of himself. _A version,_ A voice murmured in Astral's head, _that will scare the humans._ One of Astral's hands dropped to base of the energy field beside him and tightened into a fist.

"What do you want to do about it?" Dark Mist asked.

"I want…" Astral gasped as the black puddle touched his hand. Almost immediately, an idea sparked in his mind. "I want to make them suffer."

"Really?" Dark Mist sounded intrigued. "Why?"

"Because they obviously do not see what they are doing." The more he spoke, the more it made sense. "I must show them. I must make them feel the pain I feel. Because once they do, they surely will not want anyone else to feel it."

"Shouldn't you not want anyone else to feel it, then?" Utopia asked. Astral frowned.

"I…I do not. But I must make them suffer. For the good of Astral World." His thoughts were conflicted, confused. He was suddenly unsure of himself. Which was the right way? What should he choose?

"They _killed_ Auran!" Dark Mist thundered.

Astral winced at the word.

"He's _dead! Dead! _And _those humans killed him!_"

"Stop!" Astral whimpered, clapping his hands over his elfin ears and squeezing his eyes shut as the pain moved through his body like waves. Waves of pain that broke, shooting a spray of sharp anger that clamped onto Astral's very being. His eyes shot open, fury taking hold of him. "What should I do?" He asked in a newly determined voice.

"Astral…" Utopia began.

"Be quiet!" Astral snapped. "Dark Mist, what should I do?"

"What should _we_ do, Astral." Dark Mist purred. "You're not going to be alone in this."

Astral felt a pang of relief. He wasn't going to be alone anymore.

"Thank you," He murmured gratefully.

"Of course." Dark Mist replied graciously. "Now…let's kill them all."

Astral didn't even flinch at the word this time. Looking down at the puddle that was Dark Mist as if he was mesmerized by his sinister reflection, Astral felt his lips turn up in a tentative smile. He felt a tingling in his chest and realized that one of his arms was completely black – the arm that had touched Dark Mist. Astral held it out, his reflection following. The two arms were now completely identical. He let the darkness spread, not only on his body, but in his heart.

Astral had been broken when he was born. Auran had helped to heal him, and now he was even more broken than he had been before. All he wanted to do was feel better. All he wanted to do was heal. But he was born broken. Broken things did not usually know how to put themselves back together.

**Well that was…dark. I hope you guys liked it :DD Next I think I'm gonna do a one-shot with Kazuma. Leave a review and tell me if you think it should be about Kazuma and Auran or Kazuma and Astral. Thanks for reading!**

**~MS**


	2. Astral's Family

**Okay so this is probably gonna be shorter than the other one by a lot.**

Astral was discovering that the difference between levitating in Astral form and levitating in human form was found in the fact that humans were not built for levitating. But he managed.

Kazuma Tsukumo put a hand on the being's shoulder and pushed him down to the floor. As his bare feet touched the hard wood, he turned to glare up at the taller, muscular man. Kazuma held up his hands in a 'don't hit me' position.

"What?" he asked. "You looked like you were getting tired. I was just trying to help."

"I can take care of myself." The young Astral Being defended. Kazuma sighed.

"I know, I know." He turned back to the board. It was about as wide as his arm span and just a bit taller, filled with pictures tacked to it that had been taken from bushes like something in a bad spy movie. Most of them were of children. He looked at Astral, who was studying the board expressionlessly. "What have we got?" He asked.

"I took pictures of them using the scanner I 'rigged' to show levels of Astral energy." Astral said, pronouncing the human word like it was in a foreign language (which, for him, it probably was). He held up the scanner, which showed four pulses of light. Two were faint, one was brighter, and the last made all three of the others look like flashlights next to a forest fire.

"This is me," Astral pointed at the brightest light. "These two are the twins, my neice and nephew," he pointed at the two faintest, "And this one is my half-brother." He pointed at the second-brightest light.

Yuma followed the strange lady who had claimed to work with his father on what Kazuma had apparently called the "Astral Project". Obviously, this had been of interest to Yuma, Kite, and especially Astral. Yuma couldn't remember how or when Tori, Shark, Rio, and the rest of the Numbers Club had joined them, but they were all here now.

The lady led them through her shop back to a little room off the hallway, right by the storage rooms. Inside was a desk, some papers hanging from the ceiling, some papers taped onto the ceiling, and many stacks of papers on the desk. But above the desk was a board with faded pictures tacked on it in family tree form.

"Whoa. What was your dad working on?" Tori wondered in awe.

"Uh, Yuma?" Shark grabbed his friend's arm and pointed to the board. "Why are Rio and I on that?"

"And what is Hart doing up there?" Kite demanded.

But Yuma was more interested in the place occupied by a picture of Hart's apparent half-brother (opposite the other half-brother who was obviously a younger Kite). It was a sketch done on yellowed notebook paper, but the detail was astounding. It was a picture of Astral.


End file.
